In re Chalupowski

• Decision Date: 01 December 2015
• Docket Number: SJC–11548.
• Citation: 473 Mass. 1008,41 N.E.3d 51
• Parties: In the Matter of Malgorzata CHALUPOWSKI.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

473 Mass. 1008

41 N.E.3d 51

In the Matter of Malgorzata CHALUPOWSKI.

SJC–11548.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

Dec. 1, 2015.

Malgorzata Chalupowski, pro se.

Matthew C. Welnicki, Boston, for Board of Bar Examiners.

Opinion

RESCRIPT.

On May 16, 2008, Malgorzata Chalupowski applied for admission to the Massachusetts bar. She took and passed the written bar examination in July, 2008. After reviewing the disclosures included in her application, the Board of Bar Examiners (board) requested a meeting to address certain areas of concern. Chalupowski attended an informal meeting with the board in November, 2008, after which the board notified her that it was going to conduct a hearing to determine whether she “is of good moral character and sufficient acquirements and qualifications” for admission to the bar. G.L.c.221, § 37. See S.J.C. Rule 3:01, § 5.1, as appearing in 411 Mass. 1321 (1992). The board then appointed a special counsel to conduct an investigation prior to the hearing, which included, among other things, meeting with Chalupowski, interviewing various

individuals regarding Chalupowski's character and fitness to practice law, and reviewing numerous documents and other materials.

The special counsel submitted a report to the board in August, 2009, and a formal hearing was held in May, 2010. In January, 2011, the board issued its report of nonqualification, concluding that Chalupowski was “lacking in the requisite good moral character, acquirements and qualifications to warrant admission to the bar,” and directing that her application be dismissed unless, within sixty days, she sought relief from this court and a hearing was ordered. See S.J.C. Rule 3:01, § 5.3, as appearing in 411 Mass. 1321 (1992). Chalupowski timely appealed to a single justice of this court who, after a hearing, ordered that her application for admission to the bar be dismissed.

Chalupowski now appeals from the single justice's decision. We agree with the board, and the single justice, that her application for admission to the bar should be dismissed.

1. Background. The board's decision includes thorough and extensive findings of fact and a well-reasoned discussion of why Chalupowski is not qualified to be admitted to the bar. The single justice, in turn, also issued a detailed and well-reasoned decision. We summarize here only some of the facts detailed by the board, focusing, in particular, on those facts relevant to the board's two main concerns—Chalupowski's lack of candor with the board and with the courts, and Chalupowski's inability to conduct herself with respect for and in accordance with the law.

a. Lack of candor. In her application for admission to the bar, Chalupowski disclosed her involvement in protracted litigation concerning her husband's family as well as several actions in which she and her husband raised claims of fraud, conversion, and malpractice against attorneys involved in the family litigation. She failed, however, to disclose her involvement in numerous other lawsuits or court proceedings, including the existence of restraining orders obtained by her sister-in-law against her; several lawsuits involving her condominium association, three of which involved her and her husband's failure to pay association fees; and several landlord-tenant disputes. She also failed to disclose that she had filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination as well as a subsequent related complaint in the Federal District Court, and made certain misrepresentations regarding her employment history.

Before the board, Chalupowski claimed that the omissions from her application were “inadvertent.” The board, however, discounted this argument, finding it “difficult to believe that [she] did not understand fully the import of the disclosures, or lack thereof,” and concluding that “the sheer number of non-disclosures suggest an overall intent to obfuscate and deceive with respect to [her] personal litigation and dispute history.”

b. Lack of respect for the legal system. As noted, Chalupowski, along with her husband, initiated several lawsuits against lawyers, judges, and court-appointed individuals stemming from the litigation involving her husband's family. Chalupowski, in short, views herself as a victim—she claims that the lawyers and court personnel conspired to create a “fee-generation” scheme using “dupe” litigants—and her response to court decisions adverse to her and her husband is to blame the lawyers and other court personnel by claiming that they were engaged in fraudulent activity. Chalupowski and her husband did not prevail on any of the claims raised in these lawsuits. Rather, they were sanctioned

in connection with their actions on more than one occasion, the lawsuits having been deemed frivolous, including an order from the Probate and Family Co...